Researchers are urging the Government to clamp down on tobacco sale and supply.

An article from the University of Otago Wellington says the profit motive has to be removed from the supply chain.

It suggests there needs to be greater restriction on where you get them - and staff need to be trained in helping people quit.

Associate Professor George Thomson says unlike most countries, we don't have a licensing system.

"New Zealand, for various reasons, has dropped the ball. They have not focused on a whole area of tobacco policy, which is supply end."

He says there's no current licensing for people who supply tobacco.

"A child can sell out of a wheelbarrow as long as they don't sell single cigarettes and they sell packets that have proper labels."